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Shipping And Invasive Species

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The increasing numbers of invasive species around the world are a major driver of biodiversity change and cause billions of dollars in economic damages annually.  Climate change is a major factor in the spread of invasive species, but a new study by McGill University suggests that global shipping growth will far outweigh climate change in the spread of non-indigenous pests to new environments in the coming decades.

One of the most significant ways in which the disparate regions of the world are interconnected is via transportation networks.   The global shipping network is the primary means by which materials and goods are moved worldwide, accounting for over 80% of world trade.  And for this reason, the global shipping network is responsible for much of the introduction of non-indigenous species across the planet.

Living organisms are often transported through ballast water, which is taken up to stabilize cargo vessels.  Other species are transported by biofouling, whereby they attach to the hulls of ships.  Taken together, these two pathways account for anywhere between 60 and 90% of marine bioinvasions.   (Terrestrial invaders are generally moved as a byproduct of shipping, for example by infesting wood packaging material).

The McGill study looked at trends in global shipping and how socioeconomic factors are driving change.  For example, China’s share of global container throughput has gone from 1.4% in 1990 to 20.1% in 2013.  So, the distribution and patterns of shipping have been changing dramatically and with it the spread of non-indigenous species.

Awareness of this issue is increasing.  For example, there have been policy initiatives such as the International Ballast Water Management Convention that is an effort to control bio-invasions through measures such as ballast exchange.  We need to take measures to limit the unintentional spread of species.

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Global forecasts of shipping traffic and biological invasions to 2050

Photo, posted December 3, 2009, courtesy of Roger W via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Examining Sea Level Rise

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It’s no secret that sea levels along the East Coast of the United States are rising.  But what’s less known is that the water isn’t rising at the same rate everywhere.  As the climate continues to change, some cities may remain dry while others struggle to keep water out. 

During the 20th century, sea levels rose about 18 inches near Cape Hatteras in North Carolina and along the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.  During that same time period, New York City and Miami experienced a 12 inch sea level rise, while the waters near Portland, Maine only rose 6 inches.  According to a study recently published in the journal Nature, there’s an explanation for this. 

The variation is a result of a phenomenon called “post-glacial rebound.”  During the last ice age, huge sheets of ice once covered land areas in the Northern Hemisphere, including parts of the Northeast U.S.  The weight of the ice weighted down the land like a boulder on a trampoline.  At the same time, peripheral lands such as the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast rose up.  As the ice melted, the previously weighted-down regions rebounded while the peripheral lands began to sink.  While these ice sheets disappeared some 7,000 years ago, this see-sawing of post-glacial rebound continues to this day. 

Researchers combined data from GPS satellites, tide gauges, and fossils in sediment with complex geophysical models to produce this comprehensive view of sea level change since 1900.  While post-glacial rebound accounts for most of the sea level variation along the East Coast, researchers noted that when that factor is stripped away, “sea level trends increased steadily from Maine all the way down to Florida.”

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Why is sea level rising faster in some places along the US East Coast than others?

Photo, posted August 24, 2014, courtesy of Bill Dickinson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Energy Trends For A New Year

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With a new year upon us, there are several energy trends to watch out for.

The most important one is that the fundamental shift toward slow-carbon technologies is continuing. This shift is taking place despite diminishing government policy support and even active government efforts to thwart it.  There is just too much momentum to stand in the way of low-carbon energy technologies.

Analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimate that over the next 30 years over 11 trillion dollars will be invested in energy power generation and power storage assets with 85% of it aimed at zero-carbon emission.  Dramatic reductions in green energy costs have resulted in legitimate cost competition between zero carbon sources of energy and fossil fuel generation.

In the coming year, battery technology will continue to play a growing role both as a storage medium for energy generated by sun and wind and for powering vehicles.

Another trend is that the world’s wealthiest economies are learning to grow without growing the demand for electricity.  This is important in the battle to reduce overall emissions.

Another key issue is addressing the energy needs of people who have no meaningful access to it and there are around 1.5 billion people in that category.   Emerging technologies based on solar power, wind energy, microgrids and other innovations mean that traditional power grids that remain out of reach to these people are not necessary.  There is the potential to address those needs without contributing to climate change.

The world is struggling to deal with the growing problem of the changing climate, but there are trends that provide at least some hope that we can move in the right direction.

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Top 3 clean energy trends to watch out for in 2019

Photo, posted April 5, 2013, courtesy of Flickr. 

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Trends Influencing Our Cities

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The Environmental Protection Agency removed its information hub about climate change last year.  In response, 17 cities reposted the information on their own city government sites.  This is indicative of the fact that cities are increasingly taking on a leadership role in environmental, social and economic change.

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Winter Outlook

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Each year around this time, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, releases its U.S. Winter Outlook that predicts overall weather trends around the country for the upcoming winter.  They produce these seasonal outlooks to help communities prepare for the weather that is likely to be forthcoming.

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Climate Change And Heat Waves

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2016 was the hottest year on record and saw many extreme weather events.   How much of what happened resulted from climate change has yet to be assessed.  However, the analysis of 2015 – which was the hottest year on record up until last year – has been presented in a special publication by the American Meteorological Society.

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